Washington Redskins Logo

Although the Washington Redskins logo has gone through a sequence of changes over its more than 85-year history, the core visual theme – an image of an American Indian – remained the same.

Meaning and history Redskins Logo

The first logotype appeared in 1932, when the club was called Boston Braves and was based in Boston, Massachusetts. In fact, the football team borrowed the logo from the baseball team with the same name. It featured the head of a red Native American. This choice can be easily explained with the perceived athleticism of the nation. The only colors used were white and a dark shade of red.

By the following season the club adopted a new emblem. Now, the Native American was facing to the right, and was given in black. Also, a black and yellow circle appeared around the logotype.

In 1937, following a move to Washington, the logo was enriched with a couple of new details and colors. The 1952 logo update resulted in a more realistic image of the Native American’s head with two feathers (yellow and red). The 1960 version retained the outline of the Native American’s head but the colors were gone: the palette included only white and red.

The following two emblems were the only versions that did not feature the American Indian. The 1965 logo sported an arrow, while the 1970 one comprised the letter “R” placed inside a circle. As soon as in 1967, however, the club returned to its roots and the head reappeared in the logo. Now, the skin was colored brown, the hair was black. Two white feathers created an interesting visual accent.

Ten years later, the Washington Redskins logo received a subtle update, as a result of which the shape of the feathers was changed. It was said that the “tucked feather” logo appeared because the stickers were hard to place on the helmets properly. However, by the following season (1983), the decals producer switched to a better material, so the club returned to the “hanging feather” emblem.

Font of the Redskins Logo

The Washington Redskins logo features a solid sans-serif all-cap type. Being absolutely clean and legible, it manages to stay unique and recognizable due to a couple of unusual elements (for instance, shorter ends of the “K” and “R” characters, the unusual central bar in the letter “E”).

Color of the Redskins Logo

The color scheme, which includes burgundy, yellow, white, brown, and black, has remained fairly consistent throughout the years. However, not all the colors were present in each version of the logo.

Washington Redskins symbol controversy

The disputes connected with the Washington Redskins symbol started more than half a century ago, while they have gained considerable public attention since the 1990s. The football club has been accused of using harmful forms of ethnic stereotyping.

Washington Redskins emblem vs. other “Indian” emblems

It is obvious for anyone who is knowledgeable on the subject that the Washington Redskins emblem attracts more media coverage than most other “Indian” teams. One of the reasons is that the club represents the US Capital. Also, the word “redskin” is described as derogatory or insulting in modern dictionaries.